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Kelly Tunstall and Ferris Plock’s “Floating World” Travels From Shooting Gallery to Antler Gallery

Partners in art and in life, Ferris Plock and Kelly Tunstall collaborate seamlessly, almost out of necessity. They work in close proximity to one another in their studio, switching between parent duty to their two young children and working on their paintings. Elements of Plock's blocky, geometric style end up on Tunstall's softer, more painterly canvases and vice versa. The couple, sometimes known by the monicker KeFe, currently has an exhibition at San Francisco's Shooting Gallery titled "Floating World: Part One" on view through August 9. Part two of this body of work will open at Antler Gallery in Portland on July 31, creating a visual dialogue between two cities.

Partners in art and in life, Ferris Plock and Kelly Tunstall collaborate seamlessly, almost out of necessity. They work in close proximity to one another in their studio, switching between parent duty to their two young children and working on their paintings. Elements of Plock’s blocky, geometric style end up on Tunstall’s softer, more painterly canvases and vice versa. The couple, sometimes known by the monicker KeFe, currently has an exhibition at San Francisco’s Shooting Gallery titled “Floating World: Part One” on view through August 9. Part two of this body of work will open at Antler Gallery in Portland on July 31, creating a visual dialogue between two cities.

“Floating World” takes its name from the iconic Japanese wood block prints and paintings called Ukiyo-e from the Edo Period. In the Edo Period, Ukiyo (which translates to “floating world”) was a new term coined to describe the wealthy merchant class’ pleasure-seeking ways — their indulgence in theater, fashion, courtesans and the like. KeFe chose this title as an homage to Japanese culture and history, which they cite as a big influence. While Japanese imagery is present in these new paintings, the artists create their own interpretation of a “floating world”: a calm, placid place where human and animal characters mingle and anything is possible.

Shooting Gallery:


KeFe

Ferris Plock

KeFe


Kelly Tunstall


KeFe

Antler PDX:


Ferris Plock


Ferris Plock


Kelly Tunstall


Kelly Tunstall

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San Francisco based husband and wife duo Ferris Plock and Kelly Tunstall (featured here) share a style that is loose, playful and refined at the same time- a collaboration that they lovingly call "Kefe". Plock's blocky and cute animals and Tunstall's starry-eyed girls in funky outfits look very different on the outside, but happily coexist and enjoy each other's company. The couple brings their characters into the same visual space by working with the same colors, techniques and art materials. The idea of coming together and transitioning between two spaces is a running theme in Kefe's upcoming exhibition "Holding Pattern" at 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco.
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